Health-Related Product Discount System and Method

ABSTRACT

A computer-implemented method, computer program product and computing system for: defining a temporal donation schedule for a user, wherein the temporal donation schedule defines a plurality of target organizations; enabling a user to purchase a health-related product from a provider at a health-related product cost; identifying a portion of the health-related product cost for donation to a specific target organization defined within the temporal donation schedule, thus defining a donation portion; and providing the donation portion to the specific target organization defined within the temporal donation schedule.

RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.63/038,002, filed on 11 Jun. 2020, the entire contents of which areherein incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to discount systems and, more particularly, tohealth-related product discount systems.

BACKGROUND

In the world of online shopping, the consuming public has grownaccustomed to being able to easily comparison shop. Gone are the days ofdriving from store to store to compare prices, as this may be easilyaccomplished today while sitting at your computer in the comfort of yourhome.

However, people are often looking for more than just good prices whendeciding where to spend their money. Specifically, people often look tosee how their purchase may serve the greater good, such as benefittingtarget organizations (e.g., charities) that serve a particular area thatthey are interested in. Unfortunately and with respect to the purchaseof health-related product, the ability to comparison shop while servingthe greater good is compromised.

SUMMARY OF DISCLOSURE Concept #3

In one implementation, a computer-implemented method is executed on acomputing device and includes: defining a temporal donation schedule fora user, wherein the temporal donation schedule defines a plurality oftarget organizations; enabling a user to purchase a health-relatedproduct from a provider at a health-related product cost; identifying aportion of the health-related product cost for donation to a specifictarget organization defined within the temporal donation schedule, thusdefining a donation portion; and providing the donation portion to thespecific target organization defined within the temporal donationschedule.

One or more of the following features may be included. The targetorganization may include one or more of: a charitable organization, anon-profit organization and an educational organization. Providing thedonation portion to the specific target organization defined within thetemporal donation schedule may include: anonymously providing thedonation portion to the specific target organization defined within thetemporal donation schedule. The temporal donation schedule may define adonation period for each of the plurality of target organizations.Providing the donation portion to the specific target organizationdefined within the temporal donation schedule may include: defining apurchase date for the health-related product purchased by the user. Thespecific target organization may have a donation period that includesthe purchase date. The donation portion may be a fixed amount that isbased upon a tier defined for the health-related product. The donationportion may be a percentage of the health-related product cost. Aportion of the health-related product cost may be provided to a pharmacybenefits manager (PBM), thus defining a PBM portion. The donationportion may be a sub-portion of the PBM portion.

In another implementation, a computer program product resides on acomputer readable medium and has a plurality of instructions stored onit. When executed by a processor, the instructions cause the processorto perform operations including: defining a temporal donation schedulefor a user, wherein the temporal donation schedule defines a pluralityof target organizations; enabling a user to purchase a health-relatedproduct from a provider at a health-related product cost; identifying aportion of the health-related product cost for donation to a specifictarget organization defined within the temporal donation schedule, thusdefining a donation portion; and providing the donation portion to thespecific target organization defined within the temporal donationschedule.

One or more of the following features may be included. The targetorganization may include one or more of: a charitable organization, anon-profit organization and an educational organization. Providing thedonation portion to the specific target organization defined within thetemporal donation schedule may include: anonymously providing thedonation portion to the specific target organization defined within thetemporal donation schedule. The temporal donation schedule may define adonation period for each of the plurality of target organizations.Providing the donation portion to the specific target organizationdefined within the temporal donation schedule may include: defining apurchase date for the health-related product purchased by the user. Thespecific target organization may have a donation period that includesthe purchase date. The donation portion may be a fixed amount that isbased upon a tier defined for the health-related product. The donationportion may be a percentage of the health-related product cost. Aportion of the health-related product cost may be provided to a pharmacybenefits manager (PBM), thus defining a PBM portion. The donationportion may be a sub-portion of the PBM portion.

In another implementation, a computing system includes a processor andmemory is configured to perform operations including: defining atemporal donation schedule for a user, wherein the temporal donationschedule defines a plurality of target organizations; enabling a user topurchase a health-related product from a provider at a health-relatedproduct cost; identifying a portion of the health-related product costfor donation to a specific target organization defined within thetemporal donation schedule, thus defining a donation portion; andproviding the donation portion to the specific target organizationdefined within the temporal donation schedule.

One or more of the following features may be included. The targetorganization may include one or more of: a charitable organization, anon-profit organization and an educational organization. Providing thedonation portion to the specific target organization defined within thetemporal donation schedule may include: anonymously providing thedonation portion to the specific target organization defined within thetemporal donation schedule. The temporal donation schedule may define adonation period for each of the plurality of target organizations.Providing the donation portion to the specific target organizationdefined within the temporal donation schedule may include: defining apurchase date for the health-related product purchased by the user. Thespecific target organization may have a donation period that includesthe purchase date. The donation portion may be a fixed amount that isbased upon a tier defined for the health-related product. The donationportion may be a percentage of the health-related product cost. Aportion of the health-related product cost may be provided to a pharmacybenefits manager (PBM), thus defining a PBM portion. The donationportion may be a sub-portion of the PBM portion.

The details of one or more implementations are set forth in theaccompanying drawings and the description below. Other features andadvantages will become apparent from the description, the drawings, andthe claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view of a distributed computing networkincluding a computing device that executes a health-related productdiscount process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an implementation of the health-related productdiscount process of FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIGS. 3-6 are diagrammatic views of a web-based user interface renderedby the health-related product discount process of FIG. 1 according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic view of an app-based user interface rendered bythe health-related product discount process of FIG. 1 according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of an implementation of the health-related productdiscount process of FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of an implementation of the health-related productdiscount process of FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure; and

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of an implementation of the health-relatedproduct discount process of FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS System Overview

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown health-related product discountprocess 10. Health-related product discount process 10 may beimplemented as a server-side process, a client-side process, or a hybridserver-side/client-side process. For example, health-related productdiscount process 10 may be implemented as a purely server-side processvia health-related product discount process 10 s. Alternatively,health-related product discount process 10 may be implemented as apurely client-side process via one or more of health-related productdiscount process 10 c 1, health-related product discount process 10 c 2,health-related product discount process 10 c 3, and health-relatedproduct discount process 10 c 4. Alternatively still, health-relatedproduct discount process 10 may be implemented as a hybridserver-side/client-side process via health-related product discountprocess 10 s in combination with one or more of health-related productdiscount process 10 c 1, health-related product discount process 10 c 2,health-related product discount process 10 c 3, and health-relatedproduct discount process 10 c 4. Accordingly, health-related productdiscount process 10 as used in this disclosure may include anycombination of health-related product discount process 10 s,health-related product discount process 10 c 1, health-related productdiscount process 10 c 2, health-related product discount process 10 c 3,and health-related product discount process 10 c 4.

Health-related product discount process 10 s may be a server applicationand may reside on and may be executed by computing device 12, which maybe connected to network 14 (e.g., the Internet or a local area network).Examples of computing device 12 may include, but are not limited to: apersonal computer, a laptop computer, a personal digital assistant, adata-enabled cellular telephone, a notebook computer, a television withone or more processors embedded therein or coupled thereto, acable/satellite receiver with one or more processors embedded therein orcoupled thereto, a server computer, a series of server computers, a minicomputer, a mainframe computer, or a cloud-based computing network.

The instruction sets and subroutines of health-related product discountprocess 10 s, which may be stored on storage device 16 coupled tocomputing device 12, may be executed by one or more processors (notshown) and one or more memory architectures (not shown) included withincomputing device 12. Examples of storage device 16 may include but arenot limited to: a hard disk drive; a RAID device; a random access memory(RAM); a read-only memory (ROM); and all forms of flash memory storagedevices.

Network 14 may be connected to one or more secondary networks (e.g.,network 18), examples of which may include but are not limited to: alocal area network; a wide area network; or an intranet, for example.

Examples of health-related product discount processes 10 c 1, 10 c 2, 10c 3, 10 c 4 may include but are not limited to a client application, aweb browser, a game console user interface, or a specialized application(e.g., an application running on e.g., the Android tm platform or theiOS™ platform). The instruction sets and subroutines of health-relatedproduct discount processes 10 c 1, 10 c 2, 10 c 3, 10 c 4, which may bestored on storage devices 20, 22, 24, 26 (respectively) coupled toclient electronic devices 28, 30, 32, 34 (respectively), may be executedby one or more processors (not shown) and one or more memoryarchitectures (not shown) incorporated into client electronic devices28, 30, 32, 34 (respectively). Examples of storage devices 20, 22, 24,26 may include but are not limited to: a hard disk drive; a RAID device;a random access memory (RAM); a read-only memory (ROM); and all forms offlash memory storage devices.

Examples of client electronic devices 28, 30, 32, 34 may include, butare not limited to, data-enabled, cellular telephone 28, laptop computer30, personal digital assistant 32, personal computer 34, a notebookcomputer (not shown), a server computer (not shown), a gaming console(not shown), a smart television (not shown), and a dedicated networkdevice (not shown). Client electronic devices 28, 30, 32, 34 may eachexecute an operating system, examples of which may include but are notlimited to Microsoft Windows™, Android™, WebOS™, iOS™, Redhat Linux™, ora custom operating system.

Users 36, 38, 40, 42 may access health-related product discount process10 directly through network 14 or through secondary network 18. Further,health-related product discount process 10 may be connected to network14 through secondary network 18, as illustrated with link line 44.

The various client electronic devices (e.g., client electronic devices28, 30, 32, 34) may be directly or indirectly coupled to network 14 (ornetwork 18). For example, data-enabled, cellular telephone 28 and laptopcomputer 30 are shown wirelessly coupled to network 14 via wirelesscommunication channels 46, 48 (respectively) established betweendata-enabled, cellular telephone 28, laptop computer 30 (respectively)and cellular network/bridge 50, which is shown directly coupled tonetwork 14. Further, personal digital assistant 32 is shown wirelesslycoupled to network 14 via wireless communication channel 52 establishedbetween personal digital assistant 32 and wireless access point (i.e.,WAP) 54, which is shown directly coupled to network 14. Additionally,personal computer 34 is shown directly coupled to network 18 via ahardwired network connection.

WAP 54 may be, for example, an IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n,Wi-Fi, and/or Bluetooth device that is capable of establishing wirelesscommunication channel 52 between personal digital assistant 32 and WAP54. As is known in the art, IEEE 802.11x specifications may use Ethernetprotocol and carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance(i.e., CSMA/CA) for path sharing. The various 802.11x specifications mayuse phase-shift keying (i.e., PSK) modulation or complementary codekeying (i.e., CCK) modulation, for example. As is known in the art,Bluetooth is a telecommunications industry specification that allowse.g., mobile phones, computers, and personal digital assistants to beinterconnected using a short-range wireless connection.

Health-Related Product Discount Process

As will be discussed below in greater detail, health-related productdiscount process 10 may be configured to enable a user (e.g., one ormore of users 36, 38, 40, 42) to search for a particular health-relatedproduct (e.g., prescription medication, over-the-counter medication,diabetes test strips, pregnancy tests, blood glucose meters, syringes,vitamins, and healthcare products) to determine which providers sell thehealth-related product, how much the providers charge for thehealth-related product, and the location of the providers with respectto the user (e.g., one or more of users 36, 38, 40, 42).

Concept #1

Referring also to FIG. 2-3, health-related product discount process 10may receive 100 a query (e.g., query 56) for a health-related product(e.g., health-related product 58) from a user (e.g., user 36). Forexample, assume that user 36 has a prescription for Zoloft that theyneed to have filled . . . but they do not know where they can have itfilled locally and/or where they will get the best price.

Accordingly, health-related product discount process 10 may render userinterface 150 that may allow user 36 to define query 56 within queryfield 152. Specifically, user 36 may type “zoloft” into query field 152and select “Search” button 154, thus defining query 56. As user 36 typesthe name of the health-related product (e.g., health-related product 58)that they are searching for, health-related product discount process 10may render suggestions in suggestion field 156

Health-related product discount process 10 may define 102 a geographiclocation (e.g., geographic location 66) of the user (e.g., user 36).Geographic location 66 may be defined in various ways. For example andif using a handheld device with a GPS chipset (e.g., data-enabled,cellular telephone 28), health-related product discount process 10 mayaccess this GPS chipset to define 102 geographic location 66.Additionally/alternatively, health-related product discount process 10may request that the user (e.g., user 36) manually define theirgeographic location (e.g., geographic location 66).

Health-related product discount process 10 may process 104 the query(e.g., query 56) to identify providers (e.g., providers 60) from whichthe health-related product (e.g., health-related product 58) may bepurchased. Specifically, health-related product discount process 10 maybe configured to interact with/work with a pharmacy benefit manager(e.g., PBM 62). In the United States, a pharmacy benefit manager (PBM)is a third-party administrator of prescription drug programs forcommercial health plans, self-insured employer plans, Medicare Part Dplans, the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, and stategovernment employee plans. According to the American PharmacistsAssociation, “PBMs are primarily responsible for developing andmaintaining the formulary, contracting with pharmacies, negotiatingdiscounts and rebates with drug manufacturers, and processing and payingprescription drug claims.” PBMs operate inside of integrated healthcaresystems (e.g., Kaiser Permanente or Veterans Health Administration), aspart of retail pharmacies (e.g., CVS Pharmacy or Rite-Aid), and as partof insurance companies (e.g., UnitedHealth Group). Accordingly, PBM 62may be knowledgeable of the prices that the providers (e.g., providers60) charge for various health-related products (e.g., health-relatedproduct 58) as well as the physical locations of the providers (e.g.,providers 60), wherein this medicine cost information and providerlocation information may be stored within database 64 accessibleby/coupled to PBM 62.

Referring also to FIG. 4 and once health-related product discountprocess 10 processes 104 the query (e.g., query 56), health-relatedproduct discount process 10 may provide 106 health-related productinformation (e.g., health-related product information 200) to the user(e.g., user 36) concerning the health-related product (e.g.,health-related product 58) defined within the query (e.g., query 56).For example and if such health-related product information (e.g.,health-related product information 200) is desired, the user (e.g., user36) may select information button 202, which may result inhealth-related product discount process 10 providing 106 health-relatedproduct information 200.

Referring also to FIG. 5 and once health-related product discountprocess 10 processes 104 the query (e.g., query 56), health-relatedproduct discount process 10 may render 108 a multi-item result set(e.g., multi-item result set 250) for the user (e.g., user 36), whereineach item in the multi-item result set (e.g., multi-item result set 250)may be associated with a provider name, a health-related product costand a geographic proximity between the user (e.g., user 36) and theprovider.

When rendering 108 a multi-item result set (e.g., multi-item result set250) for the user (e.g., user 36), health-related product discountprocess 10 may presort 110 the items within the multi-item result set(e.g., multi-item result set 250) based upon geographic proximitybetween the user (e.g., user 36) and the provider. For example and withrespect to multi-item result set 250, the provider closest to user 36 is“CVS PHARMACY #00694” (with a health-related product cost of $15.35),wherein the provider second closest to user 36 is “RITE AID #4282-70985”(with a health-related product cost of $12.40), wherein the providerthird closest to user 36 is “RITE AID #10282” (with a health-relatedproduct cost of $12.40), and so on. Accordingly and if convenience is ofprimary importance to user 36, user 36 may be able to determine theclosest provider of health-related product 58 (i.e., is “CVS PHARMACY#00694”) regardless of cost considerations.

When rendering 108 a multi-item result set (e.g., multi-item result set250) for the user (e.g., user 36), health-related product discountprocess 10 may render 112 indicia that identifies one or more itemswithin the multi-item result set (e.g., multi-item result set 250) thathave the lowest health-related product cost. For example, health-relatedproduct discount process 10 may render 112 indicia (e.g., star 252) nextto the lowest health-related product cost for which the health-relatedproduct (e.g., health-related product 58) is available. Accordingly, if$12.40 is the lowest health-related product cost and four providerscharge that amount for health-related product 58, each item withinmulti-item result set 250 that has a health-related product cost of$12.40 will have a star (e.g., star 252) next to it, thus indicatingthat this is the lowest health-related product cost within multi-itemresult set 250.

Additionally and when rendering 108 a multi-item result set (e.g.,multi-item result set 250) for the user (e.g., user 36), health-relatedproduct discount process 10 may render 114 indicia that identifies oneor more items within the multi-item result set (e.g., multi-item resultset 250) that have the best health-related product costs. For example,health-related product discount process 10 may render 114 indicia (e.g.,green text 254) for the best health-related product costs for which thehealth-related product (e.g., health-related product 58) is available.For example, assume that green text (e.g., green text 254) indicates theten providers that have the best health-related product costs. Asdiscussed above, $12.40 is the lowest health-related product cost andfour providers charge that amount for health-related product 58.Accordingly, the four providers that charge $12.40 will include greentext (e.g., green text 254). Further, the next six providers that havethe best health-related product costs will also be identified with greentext (e.g., green text 254), resulting in the ten providers that havethe best health-related product costs being identified with green text(e.g., green text 254).

When rendering 108 a multi-item result set (e.g., multi-item result set250) for the user (e.g., user 36), health-related product discountprocess 10 may enable 116 the user (e.g., user 36) to refine themulti-item result set (e.g., multi-item result set 250) based upon oneor more of: a health-related product name; a health-related productform; a health-related product dosage; and a health-related productquantity.

-   -   Health-Related Product Name; Name field 256 may enable user 36        to select a specific brand for health-related product 58. For        example, if health-related product 58 was a type of        health-related product (e.g., Ibuprofen), name field 256 may        enable user 36 to select a specific brand of that health-related        product type.    -   Health-Related Product Form; Form field 258 may enable user 36        to select a specific form for health-related product 58. For        example, if health-related product 58 is available as a tablet,        a capsule and drops, form field 256 may enable user 36 to select        a specific form of that health-related product type.    -   Health-Related Product Dosage; Dosage field 260 may enable user        36 to select a specific dosage for health-related product 58.        For example, if health-related product 58 was available in three        dosages (e.g., 25 mg, 50 mg and 100 mg), dosage field 260 may        enable user 36 to select a specific dosage of that        health-related product type.    -   Health-Related Product Quantity: Quantity field 262 may enable        user 36 to select a specific quantity for health-related product        58. For example, if health-related product 58 was available in        three quantities (e.g., 30 tablets, 60 tablets, and 120        tablets), quantity field 262 may enable user 36 to select a        specific quantity of that health-related product type

Health-related product discount process 10 may render 118 a map (e.g.,map 264) that visually locates each provider defined within themulti-item result set (e.g., multi-item result set 250) with respect tothe geographic location of the user (e.g., user 36). As shown within map264, each provider defined within the multi-item result set (e.g.,multi-item result set 250) may be located on the map with a locating pin(e.g., locating pin 266) which (in this example) is associated with theprovider closest to user 36 (i.e., “CVS PHARMACY #00694” having ahealth-related product cost of $15.35 as defined within locating pinwindow 268). In the event that user 36 selects any of the other locatingpins, a similar locating pin window will be rendered by health-relatedproduct discount process 10.

As discussed above, the multi-item result set (e.g., multi-item resultset 250) may be initially sorted (by default) based upon the geographicproximity between user 36 and each of the providers defined within themulti-item result set (e.g., multi-item result set 250). However,health-related product discount process 10 may enable 120 the user(e.g., user 36) to sort the multi-item result set (e.g., multi-itemresult set 250) based upon one or more of the provider name, thehealth-related product cost and the geographic proximity between theuser (e.g., user 36) and the provider.

For example and referring also to FIG. 6, if the health-related productcost is of primary consideration for user 36 (regardless of geographicproximity to user 36), health-related product discount process 10 mayenable 120 the user (e.g., user 36) to sort the multi-item result set(e.g., multi-item result set 250) based upon the health-related productcost (e.g., by selecting sort button 270). Further, if the name of theprovider is of primary consideration for user 36 (regardless ofhealth-related product cost or geographic proximity to user 36),health-related product discount process 10 may enable 120 the user(e.g., user 36) to sort the multi-item result set (e.g., multi-itemresult set 250) based upon the provider name (e.g., if user 36 reallylikes Rite Aid pharmacies).

Health-related product discount process 10 may enable 122 the user(e.g., user 36) to obtain a coupon (e.g., coupon 68) to purchase thehealth-related product (e.g., health-related product 58) from a selectedprovider defined within the multi-item result set (e.g., multi-itemresult set 250) for the mediation cost associated with the selectedprovider. For example, assume that user 36 wishes to purchasehealth-related product 58 from “RITE AID #4282-70985” (with ahealth-related product cost of $12.40), user 36 may select “GET THISCOUPON” button 272 and coupon 68 may e.g., be printed or sent todata-enabled, cellular telephone 28 for redemption at “RITE AID#4282-70985”. Additionally/alternatively, if user 36 is a member ofhealth-related product discount process 10, user 36 may have amembership card (e.g., membership card 70) that defines various piecesof information (such as a Member ID #, a Group # and a BIN #), whereinmembership card 70 may be provided to “RITE AID #4282-70985”, thuseliminating the need for user 36 to obtain coupon 68.

While user interface 150 is discussed above and shown in the relatedfigures as being a web-based user interface, this is for illustrativepurposes only and is not intended to be a limitation of this disclosure,as other configurations are possible and are considered to be includedwithin the scope of this disclosure. For example and referring also toFIG. 7, there is shown an application-based user interface (e.g., userinterface 150′) that is configured to be rendered on an electronicdevice (e.g., data-enabled, cellular telephone 28).

Concept #2

Referring also to FIG. 8, health-related product discount process 10 mayenable 300 a user (e.g., user 36) to purchase a health-related product(e.g., health-related product 58) from a provider at a health-relatedproduct cost. As discussed above, health-related product discountprocess 10 may enable 300 user 36 to purchase health-related product 58from any of the providers defined within multi-item result set (e.g.,multi-item result set 250).

Additionally, health-related product discount process 10 may identify302 a portion of the health-related product cost for a targetorganization (e.g., target organization 72), thus defining a donationportion (e.g., donation portion 74). An example of target organization72 may include but is not limited to a charitable organization.

This target organization (e.g., target organization 72) may be auser-defined target organization or a platform-defined, targetorganization. For example, health-related product discount process 10may be configured to allow user 36 to select the target organization(e.g., the Wounded Warrior Project) to which the donation portion (e.g.,donation portion 74) may be directed. Additionally/alternatively,health-related product discount process 10 may be configured toautomatically select a target organization (e.g., Salvation Army) towhich the donation portion (e.g., donation portion 74) may be directed.This platform-defined, target organization may be periodically redefinedin the form of e.g., a “Charity of the Month”, wherein health-relatedproduct discount process 10 periodically redefines the targetorganization to which the donation portion (e.g., donation portion 74)may be directed.

The donation portion (e.g., donation portion 74) may be a fixed amountthat is based upon a tier defined for the health-related product (e.g.,health-related product 58). For example, health-related products (e.g.,health-related product 58) may be divided into various tiers (e.g., Tier1-Tier 8), wherein the tier into which a health-related product isplaced may define the donation portion (e.g., donation portion 74). Forexample:

-   -   Tier 1 Health-Related Products may have a donation portion        (e.g., donation portion 74) of $0.25:    -   Tier 2 Health-Related Products may have a donation portion        (e.g., donation portion 74) of $0.50:    -   Tier 3 Health-Related Products may have a donation portion        (e.g., donation portion 74) of $0.75:    -   Tier 4 Health-Related Products may have a donation portion        (e.g., donation portion 74) of $1.00:    -   Tier 5 Health-Related Products may have a donation portion        (e.g., donation portion 74) of $1.25:    -   Tier 6 Health-Related Products may have a donation portion        (e.g., donation portion 74) of $1.50:    -   Tier 7 Health-Related Products may have a donation portion        (e.g., donation portion 74) of $1.75: and    -   Tier 8 Health-Related Products may have a donation portion        (e.g., donation portion 74) of $2.00.

Additionally/alternatively, the donation portion (e.g., donation portion74) may be a percentage of the health-related product cost. For example,the donation portion (e.g., donation portion 74) may be a fixedpercentage (e.g., 1%) of the health-related product cost. Alternatively,the donation portion (e.g., donation portion 74) may be a graduatedpercentage (e.g., 1% of the first $10, 0.75% of the next $10 and 0.50%of any amount above that).

Health-related product discount process 10 may provide 304 the donationportion (e.g., donation portion 74) to the target organization (e.g.,target organization 72). As discussed above, health-related productdiscount process 10 may be configured to interact with/work with apharmacy benefit manager (e.g., PBM 62), wherein PBM 62 may beknowledgeable of the prices that the providers (e.g., providers 60)charge for various health-related products (e.g., health-related product58). Specifically and when e.g., user 36 purchases a health-relatedproduct (e.g., health-related product 58), a portion of the cost ofhealth-related product 58 may be provided to PBM 62 (thus defining a PBMportion 76), wherein the donation portion (e.g., donation portion 74)may be a sub-portion of PBM portion 76.

As discussed above, PBMs may contract with pharmacies and negotiatediscounts and rebates with drug manufacturers. Accordingly, assume forthis example that PBM 62 negotiated a health-related product cost of $20for Health-related product XYZ when purchased from Pharmacy ABC. Forthis example, assume that user 36 purchases Health-related product XYZfor a health-related product cost of $20 at Pharmacy ABC. PBM 62 mayhave negotiated a PBM portion 76 of $2 with respect to purchases ofHealth-related product XYZ from Pharmacy ABC. Therefore, wheneverhealth-related product discount process 10 is used to purchaseHealth-related product XYZ from Pharmacy ABC, the user will pay $20 toPharmacy ABC, wherein Pharmacy ABC keeps $18 of the $20 and provides aPBM portion (e.g., PBM portion 76) of $2 back to PBM 62. As discussedabove, the donation portion (e.g., donation portion 74) may be asub-portion of PBM portion 76. For example, PBM 62 may provide $1 oftheir $2 PBM portion (e.g., PBM portion 76) to health-related productdiscount process 10, wherein health-related product discount process 10may provide 304 a portion of this $1 (e.g., donation portion 74) to thetarget organization (e.g., target organization 72).

When providing 304 the donation portion (e.g., donation portion 74) tothe target organization (e.g., target organization 72), health-relatedproduct discount process 10 may anonymously provide 306 the donationportion (e.g., donation portion 74) to the target organization (e.g.,target organization 72). For example, health-related product discountprocess 10 may be configured to allow users (e.g., user 36) to utilizehealth-related product discount process 10 in different ways. Forexample, health-related product discount process 10 may allow user 36 tobe a registered user, a totally anonymous user or a charity-specificanonymous user.

When user 36 is a Registered User:

-   -   User 36 can pick their target organization (e.g., target        organization 72).    -   The donation portion (e.g., donation portion 74) is made to the        target organization (e.g., target organization 72) in the name        of user 36.    -   The prescription purchased by user 36 is tied to user 36 within        health-related product discount process 10.

When user 36 is a Totally Anonymous User:

-   -   User 36 cannot pick their target organization (e.g., target        organization 72) and the target organization is picked by        health-related product discount process 10 (e.g., “Charity of        the Month”).    -   The donation portion (e.g., donation portion 74) is made to the        target organization (e.g., target organization 72) anonymously.    -   The prescription purchased by user 36 is not tied to user 36        within health-related product discount process 10.

When user 36 is a Charity-Specific Anonymous User:

-   -   User 36 can pick their target organization (e.g., target        organization 72) by picking a card/coupon associated with e.g.,        target organization 72 (e.g., the Wounder Warrior Project may        have a unique member ID and the card/coupon may identify that        unique member ID).    -   The donation portion (e.g., donation portion 74) is made to the        target organization (e.g., target organization 72) anonymously.    -   The prescription purchased by user 36 is not tied to user 36        within health-related product discount process 10.

Concept #3

Referring also to FIG. 9, health-related product discount process 10 maydefine 350 a temporal donation schedule (e.g., temporal donationschedule 78) for a user (e.g., user 36), wherein the temporal donationschedule (e.g., temporal donation schedule 78) may define a plurality oftarget organizations (e.g., plurality of target organizations 80).

The temporal donation schedule (e.g., temporal donation schedule 78) maydefine a donation period for each of the plurality of targetorganizations (e.g., plurality of target organizations 80). For example,assume that user 36 has several charities that they are interested insupporting with donation portion 74, such as the Wounded WarriorProject, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Susan G. Komen, and theSalvation Army. Accordingly, user 36 may define a temporal donationschedule (e.g., temporal donation schedule 78) that supports (anddirects donation portion 74 to) the Wounded Warrior Project (from 1January-31 March), St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (from 1April-30 June), Susan G. Komen (from 1 July-30 September), and theSalvation Army (from 1 October-31 December).

As discussed above, health-related product discount process 10 mayenable 352 a user (e.g., user 36) to purchase a health-related product(e.g., health-related product 58) from a provider at a health-relatedproduct cost. For example, health-related product discount process 10may enable 352 user 36 to purchase health-related product 58 from any ofthe providers (e.g., providers 60) defined within the multi-item resultset (e.g., multi-item result set 250).

Health-related product discount process 10 may identify 354 a portion ofthe health-related product cost for donation to a specific targetorganization defined within the temporal donation schedule (e.g.,temporal donation schedule 78), thus defining a donation portion (e.g.,donation portion 74). Health-related product discount process 10 maythen provide 356 the donation portion (e.g., donation portion 74) to thespecific target organization defined within the temporal donationschedule (e.g., temporal donation schedule 78).

When providing 356 the donation portion (e.g., donation portion 74) tothe specific target organization defined within the temporal donationschedule (e.g., temporal donation schedule 78), health-related productdiscount process 10 may define 360 a purchase date for thehealth-related product (e.g., health-related product 58) purchased bythe user (e.g., user 36), wherein the specific target organization mayhave a donation period that includes the purchase date. For example, ifuser 36 purchased Health-related product XYZ from Pharmacy ABC on 27April 2021, donation portion 74 associated with that purchase will bedirected to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, as 27 April fallswithin 1 April-30 June.

In the manner described above with respect to user 36 being a registereduser, a totally anonymous user or a charity-specific anonymous user,when providing 356 the donation portion (e.g., donation portion 74) tothe specific target organization defined within the temporal donationschedule (e.g., temporal donation schedule 78), health-related productdiscount process 10 may anonymously provide 358 the donation portion tothe specific target organization defined within the temporal donationschedule (e.g., temporal donation schedule 78).

Concept #4

As discussed above and referring also to FIG. 10, health-related productdiscount process 10 may enable 400 a user (e.g., user 36) to make one ormore purchases of one or more health-related products (e.g.,health-related product 58) from one or more providers (e.g., providers60) at one or more health-related product costs. For example and overthe course of e.g., a year, health-related product discount process 10may enable 400 user 36 to make e.g., dozens of purchases of varioushealth-related products (e.g., health-related product 58) from one ormore of the providers (e.g., providers 60) at various health-relatedproduct costs.

Health-related product discount process 10 may generate 402 trackinginformation (e.g., tracking information 82) concerning these one or morepurchases of one or more health-related products (e.g., health-relatedproduct 58) from one or more providers (e.g., providers 60) at one ormore health-related product costs. Examples of this tracking informationmay include but is not limited to: usage information; purchaseinformation; spend information; savings information; plan deductibleinformation; donation information; and tax information.

-   -   Usage Information: Usage information may define the manner in        which user 36 accessed and used health-related product discount        process 10. For example, how often does user 36 use        health-related product discount process 10 and what do they        typically do within the system.    -   Purchase Information: Purchase information may define the        specific purchases made by user 36 via health-related product        discount process 10. For example, what specific health-related        products (type, dosage, quantity) were made by user 36 using        health-related product discount process 10.    -   Purchase Location Information: Purchase location information may        define the specific purchase location(s) from which user 36        purchased health-related products using health-related product        discount process 10.    -   Spend Information: Spend information may define the quantity of        money spent on purchases made by user 36 via health-related        product discount process 10. For example, what was the total        amount of money spent by user 36 using health-related product        discount process 10.    -   Savings Information: Savings information may define the quantity        of money saved on purchases made by user 36 via health-related        product discount process 10. For example, what was the total        amount of money saved (versus full retail) by user 36 using        health-related product discount process 10.    -   Plan Deductible Information; Plan deductible information may        define the current levels of deductible for user 36. For        example, how much more money will user 36 need to spend before        getting out of the Medicare donut hole.    -   Donation Information: Donation information may define the        quantity of donations made to target organizations (e.g.,        plurality of target organizations 80) in the name of user 36.    -   Tax Information: Tax information may define tax benefit        information for donations made to target organizations (e.g.,        plurality of target organizations 80) in the name of user 36.

Due to the potential value of this tracking information (e.g., trackinginformation 82) for the user to which it pertains, health-relatedproduct discount process 10 may enable 404 the user (e.g., user 36) toobtain at least a portion of the tracking information (e.g., trackinginformation 82).

For example and when enabling 404 the user (e.g., user 36) to obtain atleast a portion of the tracking information (e.g., tracking information82), health-related product discount process 10 may enable 406 the user(e.g., user 36) to download at least a portion of the trackinginformation (e.g., tracking information 82). Accordingly, health-relatedproduct discount process 10 may be configured to enable 406 the user(e.g., user 36) to access a website (e.g., www.givebackrx.com) anddownload at least a portion of the tracking information (e.g., trackinginformation 82).

Further and when enabling 404 the user (e.g., user 36) to obtain atleast a portion of the tracking information (e.g., tracking information82), health-related product discount process 10 may enable 408 the user(e.g., user 36) to view at least a portion of the tracking information(e.g., tracking information 82). Accordingly, health-related productdiscount process 10 may be configured to enable 408 the user (e.g., user36) to access a website (e.g., www.givebackrx.com) and view at least aportion of the tracking information (e.g., tracking information 82).

Additionally and when enabling 404 the user (e.g., user 36) to obtain atleast a portion of the tracking information (e.g., tracking information82), health-related product discount process 10 may provide 410 the user(e.g., user 36) with at least a portion of the tracking information(e.g., tracking information 82). Accordingly, health-related productdiscount process 10 may be configured to proactively provide 410 theuser (e.g., user 36) with at least a portion of the tracking information(e.g., tracking information 82) at e.g., the end of a tax year.

As discussed above, health-related product discount process 10 mayidentify 412 a portion of the one or more health-related product costsfor one or more target organizations (e.g., target organization 72),thus defining one or more donation portions (e.g., donation portion 74),wherein health-related product discount process 10 may provide 414 theone or more donation portions (e.g., donation portion 74) to the one ormore target organizations (e.g., target organization 72).

In the manner described above with respect to user 36 being a registereduser, a totally anonymous user or a charity-specific anonymous user,when providing 414 the one or more donation portions (e.g., donationportion 74) to the one or more target organizations (e.g., targetorganization 72), health-related product discount process 10 mayanonymously provide 416 the one or more donation portions (e.g.,donation portion 74) to the one or more target organizations (e.g.,target organization 72).

General

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, the present disclosuremay be embodied as a method, a system, or a computer program product.Accordingly, the present disclosure may take the form of an entirelyhardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (includingfirmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodimentcombining software and hardware aspects that may all generally bereferred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.” Furthermore,the present disclosure may take the form of a computer program producton a computer-usable storage medium having computer-usable program codeembodied in the medium.

Any suitable computer usable or computer readable medium may beutilized. The computer-usable or computer-readable medium may be, forexample but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical,electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, device,or propagation medium. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) ofthe computer-readable medium may include the following: an electricalconnection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, ahard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), anerasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), anoptical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), anoptical storage device, a transmission media such as those supportingthe Internet or an intranet, or a magnetic storage device. Thecomputer-usable or computer-readable medium may also be paper or anothersuitable medium upon which the program is printed, as the program can beelectronically captured, via, for instance, optical scanning of thepaper or other medium, then compiled, interpreted, or otherwiseprocessed in a suitable manner, if necessary, and then stored in acomputer memory. In the context of this document, a computer-usable orcomputer-readable medium may be any medium that can contain, store,communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or inconnection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.The computer-usable medium may include a propagated data signal with thecomputer-usable program code embodied therewith, either in baseband oras part of a carrier wave. The computer usable program code may betransmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited tothe Internet, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc.

Computer program code for carrying out operations of the presentdisclosure may be written in an object oriented programming languagesuch as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like. However, the computer programcode for carrying out operations of the present disclosure may also bewritten in conventional procedural programming languages, such as the“C” programming language or similar programming languages. The programcode may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user'scomputer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user'scomputer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remotecomputer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may beconnected to the user's computer through a local area network/a widearea network/the Internet (e.g., network 14).

The present disclosure is described with reference to flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems) andcomputer program products according to embodiments of the disclosure. Itwill be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/orblock diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, may be implemented by computerprogram instructions. These computer program instructions may beprovided to a processor of a general purpose computer/special purposecomputer/other programmable data processing apparatus, such that theinstructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus, create means for implementingthe functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in acomputer-readable memory that may direct a computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablememory produce an article of manufacture including instruction meanswhich implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer orother programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series ofoperational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmableapparatus to produce a computer-implemented process such that theinstructions which execute on the computer or other programmableapparatus provide steps for implementing the functions/acts specified inthe flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

The flowcharts and block diagrams in the figures may illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof code, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be notedthat, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in theblock may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, twoblocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantiallyconcurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverseorder, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be notedthat each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustrations,and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchartillustrations, may be implemented by special purpose hardware-basedsystems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations ofspecial purpose hardware and computer instructions.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure.As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended toinclude any structure, material, or act for performing the function incombination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. Thedescription of the present disclosure has been presented for purposes ofillustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive orlimited to the disclosure in the form disclosed. Many modifications andvariations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the artwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure. Theembodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the disclosure and the practical application, and toenable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the disclosurefor various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

A number of implementations have been described. Having thus describedthe disclosure of the present application in detail and by reference toembodiments thereof, it will be apparent that modifications andvariations are possible without departing from the scope of thedisclosure defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method, executed on acomputing device, comprising: defining a temporal donation schedule fora user, wherein the temporal donation schedule defines a plurality oftarget organizations; enabling a user to purchase a health-relatedproduct from a provider at a health-related product cost; identifying aportion of the health-related product cost for donation to a specifictarget organization defined within the temporal donation schedule, thusdefining a donation portion; and providing the donation portion to thespecific target organization defined within the temporal donationschedule.
 2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein thetarget organization includes one or more of: a charitable organization;a non-profit organization; and an educational organization.
 3. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein providing the donationportion to the specific target organization defined within the temporaldonation schedule includes: anonymously providing the donation portionto the specific target organization defined within the temporal donationschedule.
 4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein thetemporal donation schedule defines a donation period for each of theplurality of target organizations.
 5. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 4 wherein providing the donation portion to the specific targetorganization defined within the temporal donation schedule includes:defining a purchase date for the health-related product purchased by theuser.
 6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5 wherein the specifictarget organization has a donation period that includes the purchasedate.
 7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the donationportion is a fixed amount that is based upon a tier defined for thehealth-related product.
 8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1wherein the donation portion is a percentage of the health-relatedproduct cost.
 9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein aportion of the health-related product cost is provided to a pharmacybenefits manager (PBM), thus defining a PBM portion.
 10. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 9 wherein the donation portion is asub-portion of the PBM portion.
 11. A computer program product residingon a computer readable medium having a plurality of instructions storedthereon which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor toperform operations comprising: defining a temporal donation schedule fora user, wherein the temporal donation schedule defines a plurality oftarget organizations; enabling a user to purchase a health-relatedproduct from a provider at a health-related product cost; identifying aportion of the health-related product cost for donation to a specifictarget organization defined within the temporal donation schedule, thusdefining a donation portion; and providing the donation portion to thespecific target organization defined within the temporal donationschedule.
 12. The computer program product of claim 11 wherein thetarget organization includes one or more of: a charitable organization;a non-profit organization; and an educational organization.
 13. Thecomputer program product of claim 11 wherein providing the donationportion to the specific target organization defined within the temporaldonation schedule includes: anonymously providing the donation portionto the specific target organization defined within the temporal donationschedule.
 14. The computer program product of claim 11 wherein thetemporal donation schedule defines a donation period for each of theplurality of target organizations.
 15. The computer program product ofclaim 14 wherein providing the donation portion to the specific targetorganization defined within the temporal donation schedule includes:defining a purchase date for the health-related product purchased by theuser.
 16. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein the specifictarget organization has a donation period that includes the purchasedate.
 17. The computer program product of claim 11 wherein the donationportion is a fixed amount that is based upon a tier defined for thehealth-related product.
 18. The computer program product of claim 11wherein the donation portion is a percentage of the health-relatedproduct cost.
 19. The computer program product of claim 11 wherein aportion of the health-related product cost is provided to a pharmacybenefits manager (PBM), thus defining a PBM portion.
 20. The computerprogram product of claim 19 wherein the donation portion is asub-portion of the PBM portion.
 21. A computing system including aprocessor and memory configured to perform operations comprising:defining a temporal donation schedule for a user, wherein the temporaldonation schedule defines a plurality of target organizations; enablinga user to purchase a health-related product from a provider at ahealth-related product cost; identifying a portion of the health-relatedproduct cost for donation to a specific target organization definedwithin the temporal donation schedule, thus defining a donation portion;and providing the donation portion to the specific target organizationdefined within the temporal donation schedule.
 22. The computing systemof claim 21 wherein the target organization includes one or more of: acharitable organization; a non-profit organization; and an educationalorganization.
 23. The computing system of claim 21 wherein providing thedonation portion to the specific target organization defined within thetemporal donation schedule includes: anonymously providing the donationportion to the specific target organization defined within the temporaldonation schedule.
 24. The computing system of claim 21 wherein thetemporal donation schedule defines a donation period for each of theplurality of target organizations.
 25. The computing system of claim 24wherein providing the donation portion to the specific targetorganization defined within the temporal donation schedule includes:defining a purchase date for the health-related product purchased by theuser.
 26. The computing system of claim 25 wherein the specific targetorganization has a donation period that includes the purchase date. 27.The computing system of claim 21 wherein the donation portion is a fixedamount that is based upon a tier defined for the health-related product.28. The computing system of claim 21 wherein the donation portion is apercentage of the health-related product cost.
 29. The computing systemof claim 21 wherein a portion of the health-related product cost isprovided to a pharmacy benefits manager (PBM), thus defining a PBMportion.
 30. The computing system of claim 29 wherein the donationportion is a sub-portion of the PBM portion.